Series 3414

Machining

Machinists who set up and run lathes, mills, and other machine tools to make and repair precision metal parts.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

3400 Machine Tool Work Family · Federal Wage System (trades)

See open 3414 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 173
Open now: 10
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+11%)
Demand score: 69/100
Remote opportunity score: 0/100
Veteran opportunity score: 64/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

WG-10 to WG-11

Most common promotion potential: WG-11

WG pay plan, used by 73% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$68,433 to $79,807 per year

Median of the yearly salary ranges in posted announcements.

Who can apply

Share of job postings in the last 12 months, by who the announcement was open to.

Open to the public: 23%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 77%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 42%
Telework eligible (open now): 0%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of the Navy (67)
Department of the Army (49)
Department of the Air Force (40)
Other Agencies and Independent Organizations (6)
Legislative Branch (3)

Top states

Hawaii (19)
California (17)
Maine (16)
Washington (14)
Pennsylvania (13)

Hiring patterns

Based on job announcements since Mar 2017. How patterns are calculated

When this series usually posts jobs

Postings are spread fairly evenly through the year, so there is no clear best month to look.

Typical postings for series 3414 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	About average
February	About average
March	11% above average
April	About average
May	7% below average
June	About average
July	About average
August	11% above average
September	About average
October	About average
November	About average
December	19% below average

Postings by fiscal year

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal years 2025 and 2026 include the government-wide hiring freeze that began in January 2025.

Job announcements for series 3414 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	292
FY 2019	287
FY 2020	245
FY 2021	239
FY 2022	272
FY 2023	248
FY 2024	226
FY 2025	138
FY 2026	158

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 3414 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	9
Jan 2026	12
Feb 2026	16
Mar 2026	16
Apr 2026	13
May 2026	13
Jun 2026	12
Jul 2026	20
Aug 2026	14
Sep 2026	14
Oct 2026	22
Nov 2026 (month to date)	12

3416 Toolmaking 42 postings in 12 months
3401 Miscellaneous Machine Tool Work 31 postings in 12 months

About this data

Job numbers come from the USAJOBS API: 244,223 job announcements opened from December 1, 2025 to November 15, 2026, plus 12,260 announcements open on November 15, 2026. Canceled announcements are not counted. Series descriptions summarize the OPM Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families.

These figures describe posted job announcements, not hiring outcomes. Always read the official announcement and its qualification requirements before applying. How the scores are calculated.